I am going to be in Israel from October 25th to November 3rd, and looking to meet with candidate clients in fabless semiconductors, security, enterprise software, cloud, green and water technologies.

I am also open to meeting with Israeli VCs who have portfolio companies.  

If you can bring your companies together in a conference room at your offices, I am open to putting on a free 45 minute session on the basics of PR, the application of the social web for communications strategy, and content development strategies.

I'll also be helping Jeff Pulver with the #140Conf Tel Aviv which takes place on November 2.  This is going to be a very special event.  Please join us by registering here.

Startups Welcomed:)

If you're a startup, and even if you don't have an immediate budget for PR, I am still open to meeting you if you we can meet at The Diaghilev Hotel in Tel Aviv which is at 56 Mazeh at Rothchild.  I might be able to give you some basic pointers on messaging, communications strategy and outreach.  

I don't charge for this.  

I just do it because I love helping startups.  

There's lots of great coffee places near my hotel, or maybe just a walk up and down Rothchild Boulevard might be something good to do.

To learn more about the companies in have worked with just click here.

Reach out to me any time, here.

Today in Tel Aviv, I had a chance to catch up with Israel Cleantech Ventures' Jack Levy.  Here's his take on the Cleanovation Conference that is taking place on September 14 in Houston.  If you're an Israeli company looking to partner with American companies, we hope you'll consider Texas - and the Texas Israel Chamber as your gateway and partner into new business and deal flow opportunities.

In the process of meeting with various start-ups in Israel this week I'm really gaining some great insights into their needs for PR services.

Tomorrow, I will speaking at the Israel Startup Network event and sharing the stage with other PR / Communications Pros, Josh Cline, Sharon Levy-Matzkin and Enon Landenberg.  

What's clear to me is that either because of budget, or where they are in the life cycle of their company, be it in Israel or the U.S., they may not need a PR firm- yet.

1.  What media do you think should pay attention to your company?  Why?

Make a list of the print and online media (journals, news outlets, blogs, etc) and dream big.  Imagine you could get in any five outlets on the planet (be realistic.)  What would they be?   Try writing a draft of a press release yourself.  Need help?  Use my template, here.

2.  Start reading the media you want to be in.

If you follow the journalists that write about your space, you'll understand what they cover, their tone, and their voice.  

3.  Follow, wave, engage and comment on journalists work.

If there is a publication that you think you should be in, follow the journalist on twitter.  Here's a list of tech journalists that could help - thank you Robert Scoble.  Follow them.  Wave hello on twitter and even comment on their articles if you have something to say.  It's a great way to engage, seed the market and be found.

4.  Think about how you can be a great client.  

Come prepared.  Be reasonable.  Do your homework.  Don't be ashamed of not having a huge budget.  If you are reasonable, and pay for an allotment of time with your agency, offer to take on some of the execution yourself.  If you slip and fall a few times, it's ok.  As your budget grows, your agency can expand the range and depth of service.

This may seem like doing things in reverse, but as much as we are here to serve you, we are really here to help each other.  We want to see you be successful, exit, and hit it out of the ballpark :)

Translation:  Successful agencies / consultants are successful because they have successful clients.  

5.  Don't haggle on price or ask for discounts with the promise of greater fees later.

This is what I call the shuk mentality. 

You're not buying commodities.  

You're investing in deep expertise that can help your company beyond just getting press.  If you are being led to believe that you are getting a special deal, run away.  Unless you let your agency make a fair profit, they won't pay attention to you.  

You may be a hot company with promises of great potential, but the reality is that by virtue of the fact that there are now volumes of new start-ups, you are not only competing in a marketplace for business, you are competing for a marketplace of expert service providers.

There's always going to be another hot company next week :).

6.  Buy local in Israel when you can. 

Connect with service providers like Donna Abraham, Arlene Maron, and Belinda Gerber.  They can help you on writing, messaging, positioning. Need social media, WordPress and SEO expertise?  Reach out to Miriam Schwab.  Need help on figuring out how to master WordPress so you can do this yourself?  Nadine Wildmann is a rock star.  They are all in Israel.  They are nice people and can service you well here- and locally. You can also check out the Divas at Digital Eve Israel - a great resource for locally based talent in PR and emerging media.  

7.  Consider blended services as a way to save money.

See Item 6 and invest your budget in strategy and agency outreach.  Ask your agency if they would be willing to team with your local writers and other service providers.  It's worth a try.  Remember, you are not asking for discount.  You are asking to pay your agency for specific areas of expertise.

8.  Want to know what journalists are writing?  Check out HARO.  It's free.

PR Whiz, Peter Shankman created a very useful and free service - HARO - Help A Reporter .  Journalists list requests for sources and if you check it daily, your company might have the story the journalist is working on.  I've used it with great success.  Thank you Peter.

9.  Want to know what journalists are writing?  Research editorial calendars.  Check out Cision.  It's free.

Go back to step 1 and pick the top five media you think you belong in.  Go their site and check out their editorial calendar. Maybe there are getting ready to write on something that is specific to your space and your expertise.  Go here to Cision and do your own research.  It's free.

10.  Need to figure out a media strategy?  

Easy.  See who writes about your competitors or companies peripheral to your space.  Go to the company's press section on their site or just do a news.google.com search and start tracking who covers your competition or the key words in your space.  

11.  Thinking about briefing Industry Analysts?  

Depending on where you are in your life cycle, reaching out to Industry Analysts merit consideration.  Your mileage may vary, depending on where you are on this.  At the very least, and much like my recommendation in following and engaging with journalists you can do likewise with Industry Analysts.  Many have blogs and write free commentary.  I have an article here on my blog from the perspective of an industry analyst.

12.  Need a Director of Industry Analysts?   Check out Barbara French's Blog.  It's free.

Check out SWAY - Barbara French's approach to Industry Analyst Relations, Influencer Marketing and the Business of Influence.

Big Time Take-Away:

Prepare yourself now for coverage.  

Rather than thinking you can shove your press releases down the throats of your favorite journalists, think about how you can become a trusted source of quality content.  This is where I go back to my point about why I believe every company should think of themselves as a media company,  a content curator, and story teller.

One of the issues that I am seeing on this trip is that many Israeli start-ups face the challenge of going through the process of selecting a PR Agency or Consultant.  This can be especially daunting when you are trying to do this from Israel, and you want to work with a team in the U.S.  

Here's some suggestions to consider. 

No two agencies or consultants are alike.  The right mix can precisely deliver, your cup of tea.   

 Shot on location at Portabello Road Market - London  (c) 2011.  Please share:)

1. Reach out to journalists specific to your space and ask them who they respect and who they like working with. 

That’s often a good clue.  Make sure and ask who the good PR people (not agencies) are, who work inside agencies

2.  Research your competition’s agencies. 

Clients change agencies for good and bad reasons.  Often times, you can source the agency who had the client as a startup but not necessarily when then they had an exit or were acquired.  Just go to your competitor’s news section and scroll through the history of press releases

3.  Don’t hire “an Agency,” hire the right team. 

Your team could be a mash up of your internal resources, outsourced talent from Israel, an individual consultant, a boutique agency or one or two key people inside a large agency.  And when you are meeting with the Agency, make sure you know who is selling and who your account team will be.

4.  If you are VC funded, ask the internal Marcom person at your VC firm who they recommend. 

Work from a list and find the firm / person / group that best suits your needs, depending on your needs and budget.

5.  Try, if you can, to avoid the unnecessary dance of RPF’s and blind proposals.

In general, most RFPs suck and are a waste of time.  You can read my take on the RFP process here.  Be up front with your agency about what you need, your timeline and most of all, your budget. 

6.  Don’t accept a prescription until you are diagnosed.  

Once you have decided on 2 or 3 firms you might want to work with, consider having them come and meet you in the U.S. (yes, you pay for this, but it’s worth it) for a ½ day or full day workshop to help you determine what you need, what you can afford to do, how much you can do yourself and plan a prototype roadmap. 

The cost of doing this might run you the equivalent of one month of services, but you’ll gain a professional’s insights into how they work, how they think and how they interact with your team.  If you are paying them for this, it changes the game. 

Sure, we’re all in sales mode, but even for the day, it sends a clear message that you respect their work, and most of all, you value their time.

7.  Issue a call for PR firms on Twitter. 

Yes, this sounds a bit off the wall, but give it shot.  Something like -  “Innovative startup in the X space, based in Israel, looking for U.S. based #TechPR firm.”  (make sure you use the hash tag as noted)

8.  Attend your industry’s conference and trade shows where exhibitors -- and their agencies are there to support them. 

Go to the booth and ask someone in the booth who their PR firm is.  You’d be surprised how much information and insight you can gain this way.

9.  Don’t assume that you are going to need an Agency that has a specific expertise in your space.  

Does experience count? 

Of course. 

But often times, if you are breaking new ground or disrupting a market segment or creating a new segment of its own, remember that you’re hiring the Agency for their deep thinking and methods rather than their industry experience.  This is particularly true in emerging spaces like Clean and Greentech.  This field is rather new and the skills sets from one area of technology are easily transferable to another.  You're not hiring an Agency / Consultant because they are experts in wind power.  You are hiring them because they are great story tellers and know how to sell, evangelize and curate content.

10.  If you are going to integrate social communications / social media into your mix, look into your agency's presence on the social web.

In other words, does your Agency and its principals eat their own dog food?  

Are they on Twitter and Facebook?  Do they check in on sites like Foursquare and Gowalla?  Does the agency have a YouTube channel?Do they have their own SEO strategy?  

This is often a good way to cut the hype and dig into the substance of who you might be working with.

How about you?  Comments from afar?

I am returning to Israel from March 27 through April 8 and I would love to connect in several ways:

1.  Speaking:  

If you have a tech related group and would like a guest speaker on the subject of strategic PR, the social web, and branded content.  You can see some of my presentations here.  Last month, when I was in Israel I spoke at the MEGAComm Writer's Conference and the Israel Startup Network event at the IBM Innovation Center.

2.  Texas Israel Chamber of Commerce:

Ok... I am biased.  But just so you know, Texas was really God's way of saying he needed another, very special place in the world, after he created Israel.  So, he created Texas.

If you are thinking of expanding your Israel-based business, or thinking of opening your U.S. operations, I hope you will consider Texas.  

Through the Texas Israel Chamber of Commerce, I can help you learn more about out great state and all the amazing things going on here.  We're really nice people, easy to do business with, and you are simply not going to find better Bar-B-Que or Mexican food in other places like Silicon Valley, New York, Boston, etc.

3.  Working with me and my amazing team:

I've re-tooled the way I operate and now running a virtual agency.  I have mashed up an amazing team of communications, design, development, writing and analytics professionals.  My focus remains on message, communications strategy, traditional PR and blending it with B2B social media and branded content.  

If you would like to learn more and meet, email me:  alan@weinkrantz.com so we can connect.  Click here to get an idea of the roster of clients I have served.

4.  One day / on site consultation.

Maybe you know you need to do something about your PR and Social Media initiatives, but not sure what to do.  Maybe you have internal staff that does some type of Marcom.  Or, maybe... just maybe, you have no budget, but a great story and maybe a great CTO who would not mind publishing content about what you are doing and why your technology is so important.

I have a one day on-site service offering, for Israeli companies only, which runs $1,500.00.  It's an on-site workshop aimed at helping you deep dive into what your communications strategy should be, what it could look like, and what intellectual assets you have that could become the foundation for doing some of this on your own - without the need of a traditional agency. 

Without the need of an agency?  

Yes.  

No agency.  

You may not need one.  At least, not yet.  

You may just need to do a better job of story telling.  You may just need access to a couple of journalists that might be candidates to learn about your story.  Your CTO may be the better story teller, rather than having an agency person doing this for you.  

Much depends on what your company does, it's scale and where you are headed.  On my visit to Israel in late February, I met with many possible clients, who really did not need the services of an agency.  

I am of the opinion that early in life as a startup, you might not be well served be an agency, let alone may not have a budget.  But you need to be found. You want to be discovered.  You want to connect with possible partners, investors, and new customers.  I really think if properly trained, and re-tooled in a new mind set of branded content, you can do much of this yourself. 

If you want to learn more, let me know, so we can schedule - alan@weinkrantz.com.

5.  A free seminar for  VC firms' portfolio companies

I am in the process of doing some outreach to Israel-based VCs, but hoping through this post, it might catch someone's attention that I might miss.  

So....if you are a VC in Israel and can assemble a group of 8 of your portfolio companies, I will conduct a free one hour seminar on PR / Social Media / Branded Content.

You supply the space, the coffee, WiFi and a projector with a screen, and I am yours. 

6.  Speaking to Israeli University students studying technology marketing and business development

I think every university student is a personal brand.  They've been in the Army, they are now at University and they are getting ready to leave and join an amazing tech company that is bound to disrupt and change the world.  

I have done this presentation in the U.S. which you may view here, and would like to offer it when I am visiting Israel.  If you are a Dean or Professor, reach out and let me know. 

7.  Coming to SXSW 2011 in Austin?  Come by and say Howdy!

I have some friends from Israel who are coming to SXSW which starts next week.  If you are coming over, I'd love to meet. The #140Conf is going to have it's own booth, so come by and chill out on our comfy couches we'll have for our community.

Thanks for reading this post.  If you have other suggestions or observations, leave a comment.

Israel and Texas Working Together for Cleantech

Date:  February 22, 2010
Location:  Austin Hilton Hotel  |  Austin, TX

As the first Cleantech conference of its kind, the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Government of Israel-Economic Mission and the Austin Chamber of Commerce cordially invite you to participate in the Texas-Israel Cleanovation Conference next February 22, featuring the world’s most sophisticated technologies for water and alternative energy in the United States’ leading Cleantech city, Austin, TX.

This exclusive networking conference will feature 10-15 leading Israeli companies attending from Tel Aviv, and will provide utility and clean energy companies, investors and technologists with an opportunity to learn about highly advanced Cleantech technologies available in both Texas and Israel markets. Come and learn how your business can benefit from these sources.

Cleanovation Featured on News8 Austin!

Featured Highlights

• One-on-one meetings to build and fund your business
• Presentations by featured Israeli & US companies
• More than 200 industry professionals
• New industry technology

Keynote Presentations

• Dr. Eli Opper, Chief Scientist of Israel
  University of Texas Graduate
• Mark Armentrout, Former Board Chair of ERCOT and current President of the Texas Institute of Sustainable Technology Research
• Senior Official from Governor Rick Perry’s office

Quick Facts

• Due to Israel’s scarce natural resources, it is leading the world in water and alternative energy innovations.
• The BIRD Foundation, a joint U.S & Israeli governments fund targeted to fund R&D partnerships between Israeli and U.S companies, as well as Israeli Venture Capital firms have already committed to participate in this event represent over $1B in investment potential.
• Related conferences: Renewable Energy World, February 23-25, 2010, Austin, TX and Cleantech Forum® XXVI, February 24-26, 2010, San Francisco, California.

Registration

Price: $75

Hotel Accomodation

Offer Expires: January 28, 2010

Save 30% on Hotel Accomodations – Austin Hilton Hotel

Save significantly on hotel rooms by booking your room now by mentioning “Texas-Israel Cleanovation” with code ACH. Austin Hilton Hotel located downtown Austin, across from the Austin Convention Center where the Renewable Energey World Conference will be held. Call (512) 482-8000 or visit www.austin.hilton.com to reserve your room today.

Online Reservation-
Go to www.austin.hilton.com and select the arrival and departure dates from the drop down selection on the right side.
Under group/convention code (towards the bottom) enter the 3 letter code (ACH)
It will populate with your group information and then just select the option to reserve a room

Central Reservations-
1-800-445-8667 and ask for your group discount code ACH

In-house Reservations-
1-512-482-8000 (ask for in-house reservations and then your group discount)

(download)

Click here to download:

Details_Here_on_Texas-Israel_C.zip (3 KB)

This video is worth watching, or if you are really, really busy, proceed with what you are doing and just listen to the audio.

Chris Brogan shares his belief sets, which starts off with a focus on listening.

That's a good place to start. He talks about using Social Media to help make companies human again.

That's a good place to go.

He talks somewhat about measurement and accountability, which is a good way for businesses to justify this and justify that.

What's more important in the mix is trying, experimenting and realizing that whether or not you engage and listen to customers, they are already engaging with you or without you.

Worth a listen.